South Korea's Q1 GDP up 1.7% q-o-q, ticks up from earlier estimate

[SEOUL] South Korea's economy expanded by a seasonally adjusted 1.7 per cent in the first quarter, revised central bank data showed on Wednesday, a notch above the 1.6 per cent growth estimated in late April.

Towing the growth were private consumption and facilities investment that grew 1.2 per cent and 6.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter, respectively. First-quarter growth for facilities investment was the sharpest in nine years.

Construction investment was sharply revised up to 1.3 per cent growth, from a 0.4 per cent gain estimated earlier, while exports jumped 2.0 per cent, better than a 1.9 per cent rise reported earlier.

From a year earlier, the economy grew a revised 1.9 per cent during the period, better than the 1.8 per cent expansion seen previously.